Thanks for the comments, everybody. I agree I need to get out on the deep water, and trust me, I will soon (although it does look like by that time Oso be putting that 160 quart ice chest up on his shoulder!) Right now a combination of work, taking care of Mama who can't drive for a while, and some family business is keeping me even off the bay. So I am collecting tackle for retirement, and learning the theory of a side of the sport I have never known well--with all your help.
Jig: I have been using spinning tackle since the mid-fifties, and made the stupid mistake a couple of months back of asking Kil why you couldn't use the rail with a spinning rig. He told methe reason why very politely, but you just know he had to be thinking: "That stupid old #$^& is too dumb to live." At least I consoled myself that I wasn't the dude (may have been on another board) who told him he didn't know how to pick a jigging rod.
Russ